Unless the manufacturing and retail sectors achieved a significant performance turnaround, strong growth in the industrial property market cannot be expected, Rode & Associates chief property economist Erwin Rode says, noting that the growth in manufacturing output and retail sales volumes had, in general, waned since 2010 and that, for now, the prospects for these two sectors remained daunting.
Rode highlighted that there were several factors on the retail side that continued to presage modest growth in retail sales volumes, including households that were overwhelmed by debt, and therefore unable to afford significant credit extension; high and growing unemployment; and low consumer confidence levels.
“As for the manufacturing sector, its single largest hindrance to production remains the unreliable supply of electricity,” Rode pointed out.
Rode would further discuss the outlook for the retail and manufacturing sectors, and the likely impact it might have on the demand for industrial space and rentals at the yearly real estate investor conferences to be held in Durban, Johannesburg, Bloemfontein, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and Windhoek next month.